


Help me

by Eucalie



Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst Prompt, Azran Legacy Spoilers, Crying, Gen, Kidnapping, Last Specter Spoilers, Miracle Mask Spoilers, Party, Pregnancy, SPOILS SPOILS SPOILS, Violence, august prompt, hurting baby, too much pain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:35:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26009617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eucalie/pseuds/Eucalie
Summary: Written for the August prompt from the London discord server, "No Comfort Only Pain" !My wonders about how Emmy could have join Targent, if the world had been even worse for her.
Relationships: Emmy Altava & Hershel Layton, Emmy Altava & Luke Triton
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	Help me

Loud music echoed in her ears. Flash of colorful lights spread around the dark room. Strong bass making the walls vibrate. Thrilled by all her dancing classmates around, she let herself get lost into the rythm.

Colorful glasses, with as colorful drinks in. Strong smell of alcohol surrounded the bar area, but she didn't mind. She took another glass.

One of her friends led her to the dancefloor. The warm feeling of the drinks she had made her feel dizzy, added to the warm atmosphere of yound adults sweating and dancing in a confined area. She didn't mind the dizzyness, and she kept dancing.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. She turn around. A young man, quite handsome, with a dashing smile. She returned it. He embraced her, guiding her into his rythm. She obliged.

They giggled, running into the corridors of the boy's dormitory. Shushing her, he struggled to put his keys into his door, with her arm around his neck and her free hand caressing her chest. After a couple of minutes of fidgeting the lock, the door opened and they slid in.

Clothes get ripped. Hands discovering each other's body. Sharp breaths agains sweaty skins. Weak attempts to lower their voices.

They lost themselves in the other's arms.

A couple of months later, she started to question her health.

Everytime she woke up, she had this urge to throw up. Her head hurt like hell all day long, and her legs felt like jelly at random moments of the day. Sometimes, her vision was blurring and she almost fainted a couple of times.

She decided to go to the nursery after a few days. Maybe she had eaten something weird, and she needed medecine.

However, the nurse asked her how late she was. Oh, yes, now that she thought of it, she _was_ late. About two weeks.

The nurse gave her one of those tests. She did it.

Positive.

Her baby's father dumped her the second she told him. Since the university's director wasn't very happy with pregnant students, she also had to leave school.

Thankfully for her, she still had her grandmother to help her. She moved in her house, and tried to sign up in another university. They all refused, apart from one. Not the best, but it will do.

From now on, she fell asleep alone in her grandmother's guestroom, rubbing her belly while crying under the moonlight and thinking about how she will get out of this living hell.

Mia went into this world months later, and she had never been this happy since a long time. Her girl was a real treasure, a copy of herself : big bright brown eyes, puffy cheeks. After some months, she also had her mother's curly hair, attached into a little ponytail at the top of her head.

Her mother began to work as a waitress after school, to help her grandmother. It was hard for her to juggle between Mia, school and work, and she managed.

She'd do anything to see her treasure smile.

Her grandmother died soon after Mia's first birthday. Since she couldn't afford a full-time babysitter, Mia's mother had to stop going to school to take care of her.

One of her classmates had introduced her to a photograph. 'A family friend', he said. She begged him to give her a job, and he accepted after a few tries, mostly of pity.

She loved her job : she had to planify photo sessions at different areas of Ireland, checking if the materials were functionning alright, and she had to take care of financial issues. Most of the time, she was doing this last task at home, while taking care of her daughter.

They hadn't the easiest life and she knew it, but her daughter was happy, and it was everything she needed.

Their living heaven fell apart after their arrival. She was twenty one.

It was around eight in the evening. A four years old Mia was playing in the living room with her dolls and plushies. Her mother was in the kitchen, keeping an eye on her daugther while cheking for the boiling water. She was about to put pastas in when the doorbell rang.

She walked towards the door, wandering who could visit them in such a late hour.

She opened the door. Three men in dark blue suits were in front of her. One of them was familiar.

"Wha-"

"Hello there, Emmy." her ex-boyfriend smiled a devilish smile, that froze her blood. The scar that crossed his face made hime even scarier.

Before she could close the door, one of his comrades blocked it with one hand, and he grabbed her arm. She screamed. Mia began to cry. He didn't mind.

"Why, is it a manner to welcome your child's father ?"

Emmy tried to say something, but the three of them entered the house and closed the door behind them. Mia's cries echoed in the room.

"Get out of my house !" she yelled. He slapped her. Mia screamed.

"I hate it when women yell at me. Now you shut it, before I slap your head against the wall to force you to close this filthy mouth of yours."

He tilted his head quickly towards Mia, and the two men went to the little girl. Emmy tried to step between them, but he grabbed her arm and forced her to the ground, his knee on her back.. She struggled to get free, and he lowered his head to hers, his lips right next to her ear. She yelled to leave Mia alone.

"Don't worry sweetie, I wouldn't hurt my little girl."

Emmy felt something hard hit the back of her head, and everything turned into darkness, echoing the sounds of her crying girl.

Emmy woke up in a dark cellar, sitting on a chair with a throbbing headache. She tried to move, but found out her hands and feet were tied. Nothing was around her, except a faint light that was dying.

Her breath quickened. Mia wasn't there. She screamed her name. No answer.

The door in front of her opened. The sudden light made her close her eyes as she groaned in pain.

"Hope you had a sweet sleep darling."

He turn on a better light. Emmy knew exactly who was talking. She forced her eyes open. That same scar.

"I swear to God, I will crush every single one of your bones if you lay a finger on her."

"Ha. Fun thing from a girl who got pregnant as a teen. I don't think God liked this."

She gritted her teeth so hard it made her mouth hurt.

"What do you want ?" she said, angry clearly showing on her face and voice.

He put his hand on his uniform pockets. Emmy didn't know she hated blue this much before this instant.

"I want you. Well, my boss wants you."

"Who do you think I am ? A bit-"

He quickly kick the chair, making it fall. Emmy's face hit the ground a little bit harder than expected. She yelped.

He grabbed her hair, pulling her and the chair at the right place.

"I am the one talking here."

Emmy felt blood in her mouth. Her dark eyes pierced his, flaming with anger.

"Okay, let me explain. You are in Targent's headquarters, where I am currently working. You see, Targent is a wonderful organization, focused on ancient civilizations-"

She spat blood at his face. He wipped it with his sleeve.

"... Especially about the Azran."

"Do you think I care ? Where is my daughter ?" Emmy shouted.

He smiled, caressing her cheek and avoiding her bite. "That's precisely the point. You see, we lack of brute force."

He began walking around her, occasionally caressing her hair. As much as she hated it, she couldn't dodge it very well. His touch made her sick. She wondered how she could have been in love with him.

"Brute force, and sharp mind. And despite being the little bitch you are that got a child at seventeen, I believe you are worthy of the job."

"What job ?"

He stopped his path in front of her. His smile nearly made her throw up.

"We want you to gather informations for us. Our little mole, to say the word."

"And why would I work with you ?"

Emmy suddenly felt a sharp object against her neck's skin. A knife.

He squatted in front of her, holding the blade still as he caressed her cheek.

"We knew you wouldn't be eager to join us. So allow me to remind you that we have your little daughter with us. A single word from the boss, and you'll never see her again. I believe it's a valuable reason to work for us, don't you think ?"

Emmy's heartbeat quickened as she took a sharp breath. "You're going to let your daughter get killed ?!"

"Oh, so now she's mine ?" He stood up, putting the knife away. "I wouldn't be so sure. Surely, you haven't got your bitch reputation from nowhere, did you ?" He said with a sly smile. Anger made her blood boil in her veins. She won't allow tears to flow.

He turned around, heading to the door.

"We'll give you one day to think about this. Accept, and Mia will live. Refuse, and you will both be killed. Now it's up to you."

The door close in a loud bang. It was only when she was sure she was alone that Emmy allowed herself to cry.

The next four years were awful.

Emmy wasn't allowed to leave the Nest during the first year. Targent's training were tough, not allowing her to rest properly. They didn't allow her to see Mia either. She tried to sneak into the dormitory where she might be, but they found out, and she ended with bruises all over her body and three days without food.

After nearly a year into the Nest, Targent's boss himself asked to see her. It was the first time she saw him, and strangely, he wasn't like all the other recruits she'd met there. He felt out of place. Almost... Empty. She may have felt bad for him, if he wasn't the one responsible of Mia's kidnapping.

She finally knew what her mission was. Why he had brought them here. She had to spy the professor Hershel Layton. Sign as his assistant, befriend him, and collecting informations about his work for Targent. The same man that saved her, years ago...

For a unknown reason, Bronev allowed her to see her daughter every two weeks, from the moment she'd start her mission. They even allowed her to see her before leaving.

Her little girl, so full of joy not so long ago, now looked like a broken doll. Brown eyes full of fear, and no traces of the big smile she had everytime. When Emmy saw her, they both burst in tears while hugging the other. There were no words needed. However, as soon as she hugged her daughter, Emmy were dragged away under Mia's cries, indicating their time together was over.

The train travel for London felt both like a relief and a heartbreak. Far away from this dark place, but too far away from Mia.

She had to end it all fast, for her baby's sake.

The hardest part of Emmy's job was to act like everything was fine during all these three years.

The professor was the gentlest man on Earth, compared to the boys from Targent. Always caring for her, showing her true respect, smiling at her and treating her like a real lady. It felt good after all that happened.

And Luke... This little boy, who looked so much like her own girl, curious and full of life. Everytime she looked at him, Emmy saw Mia, trapped in the Nest, alone and scared. She may have bond with the boy to fulfill the void left by her disappearance, and she still didn't know if it was good or not. But what she knew was that the tears that ran on her cheeks the second she closed her flat's door were real, and broke her into tinier pieces everyday.

When Luke and his mother reunited after Descole's first fail against the professor, she dug her nails so hard on her palm to suppress her tears that she wounded herself.

When he jumped on the Detragigan at Ambrosia, she felt like the world stop spinning around herself. She cried on her daughter's hair the next time she saw her.

When Luke nearly died at Monte d'Or, hanging on a rope, the panic attack she had right after Hershel jumped to save him nearly made her tell him everything.

When she had to put this icicle on Luke's throat back in Froenborg, her heart definitely broke for good. She didn't care about holding her tears when she led him into the cave after the opening of the door. Luke kept asking her what was wrong, but seeing the despair in her eyes convinced him something was odd about her.

She left him on the bridge, plagued by the thoughts of an overjoyed daughter playing with her mother, and a wonderful little boy chasing her during summer days.

The Azran legacy fell soon after.

Seeing the ruins sinking on Froenborg's lake should be a relief for Emmy, as if everything was finally over. But it wasn't. She just felt empty.

Inspector Grosky finally arrested Bronev. After all he has done for her, it felt like is was nothing compared of the deep despair he plunged her into.

The inspector asked her to meet him, after they came back to London. He asked her a lot of questions, about her life, about her ties with Targent... But she couldn't tell him anything about Mia. The day before, she received a letter with a lock of Mia's hair, saying : "She's not safe yet."

So she just said nothing, hoping this hell would cease soon.

Emmy returned to Scotland Yard's days later. There, she saw the professor and Luke, who were also there by the inspector's will. Luke's parents were with them. She didn't dare approach them.

And then she saw him.

Hands tied in front of his stomach, pulled by the arm by Grosky out of the interrogation room. The same scar that scared her for four years.

"Swift." she said, softly, as a whisper. He lifted his head. He was in front of her.

He looked at her with a small smile. "Emmeline."

Grosky was about to say something and to pull him away, but Swift spoke before.

"So, how's life now ?"

The death stare she gave him made him laugh. "Ah, of course it's not, eh ?"

"Shut up."

He leaned over her. His face was inches away from her. The loose chain of the handcuffs locking him touched her arm.

The atmosphere felt like ice. Nobody moved, not even police officers. Grosky pulled his arm again, but Swift didn't move.

"We don't have time to chat, you devil. Off we go."

"Do you think you're safe, now ?" he said, licking his lower lip. Emmy's eyes locked in his, her fists trembling.

She lifted her head. "Your time is over, Swift." she said in a soft voice. Hiding her trembles under a thin smile, she continued. "Targent is over. The Azran are gone. You lost everything. It's a question of time before the police arrest every single one of you. Therefore, yes, I am safe. You lost."

A spred of adrenaline lighted her from inside. Grosky arrested him. He couldn't do anything against Mia now. She'll soon see her again. At last-

She felt something pushing her against the wall the second after she spoke. The loose chain quickly leaped above her head, his arms hugging her form. Then, she felt the chain embracing forcefully her throat. She gasped for air, as she grabbed the chain in an effort to breathe.

Swift growled behind his greeted cheek, slapping his forehead against hers. "You filthy little bitch ! How dare you speak to me like that !"

Screams echoed in Scotland Yard's hall. Grosky and Carmichael jumped on Swift to stop him, but he kept struggling and insulting her, driving by anger. Layton joined them in haste, trying to loosen the chain around Emmy's throat as she cried in shock.

After seconds of fighting that felt like hours for her, they finally got her free. She fell on the floor, coughing hard and spitting blood, as Carmichael and Grosky dragged Swift away forcefully under his screams.

"You'll never be safe ever again ! You'll never see that little brat again, be sure of this !"

Layton hugged Emmy close as she cried, still in shock from the altercation they just had. Her throat hurt like hell, air burning her lungs as she tried to steady her breaths.

She grabbed the professor's coat, hiding her face in his shirt as she cried her heart out. Policemen surrounded them, protecting them in case of Swift pulled himself free, while Monica called the nearest hospital.

Fortunately, no real damage were made on Emmy's throat, except from a deep drak bruise all around her neck. She stayed at the hospital for a couple of days just to make sure everything was alright.

Layton visited, with Luke and his parents. She couldn't say anything to them. Staring at the window, she stayed silent, concentrating on her breaths that still burnt her. They tried to understand what had happened, how she was feeling, but to not avail.

When she left the hospital, however, she headed straight to Scotland Yard. Doctors didn't allow her to leave alone, so Hershel proposed himself to bring her there. She just nodded.

He asked for inspector Grosky, who arrived minutes later.

"Ah, Emmy. How are you feeling, now ? Please, take a seat."

"Inspector...." she whispered. Layton and Grosky looked at her, startled to hear her weak voice.

"Yes ?" he said in a soft voice, as if not to break her.

Emmy took a few deep breaths, her lips trembling.

"Please..."

Her body shook with spasms from her cries. She lifted her gaze to meet the Inspector's eyes.

"...Help me."

**Author's Note:**

> I'm crying


End file.
